Wigan v Blackburn: Oppose goals in derby dust-up

Wigan remain winless at home

Wigan remain winless at home this season as the Latics fell to a 3-1 reverse to Cardiff at the DW Stadium on Saturday. Callum Robinson's seventh-minute goal set the tone for what followed with the Bluebirds doubling their advantage on the hour mark; Charlie Wyke's late goal halved the deficit, before the Welsh visitors grabbed a decisive third in stoppage-time.

The result extends Wigan's wretched home record since winning promotion back to the Championship, and was the Latics' second successive loss in the space of four days. Head coach Leam Richardson could have few complaints about the final score but felt his team could have been more productive in possession, generating just 0.90 Expected Goals (xG).

Richardson said, "The main disappointment is the way we started the game, and going behind so early. We wanted to start with a real intent, after such a tough game on Wednesday night, when we probably came away with a result we didn't deserve. I was disappointed with certain moments, and I just thought Cardiff were more clinical."

Richardson made five changes to his starting XI, freshening the side up with starts for Tendayi Darikwa, Jason Kerr, Joe Bennett, Graeme Shinnie and Charlie Wyke. The Wigan boss is expected to shuffle his pack again for Tuesday night's tussle.

Blackburn bounce back against Rotherham

Blackburn bounced back from their midweek defeat against Cardiff by securing a fifth Ewood Park triumph of the campaign thus far, overcoming Rotherham with an emphatic 3-0 victory on Saturday. Ben Brereton Diaz's penalty put Rovers ahead at the break and the Chilean scored a second in the second-half with Sammie Szmodics also on the scoresheet.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's troops were good value for the points, and were particularly eye-catching after the interval, which could have seen Blackburn secure a win by an even wider margin. Rovers accumulated 2.33 Expected Goals (xG), won the shot count 19-9 and fired in 12 attempts from inside the opposition penalty area, in a dominant display.

Tomasson was understandably enthused by his side's performance post-match, saying: "It was a great result and a great performance. We were in control for the whole game, we made some great runs, we kept possession and kept a clean sheet. We were very dangerous from set-pieces and could have scored more from those too."

Brereton Diaz was withdrawn early as a precaution on Saturday but is expected to be available for the shot trip to the DW Stadium. Elsewhere, Scott Wharton, Tyler Morton and Sam Gallagher were all recalled to the starting XI and could keep their places ahead of the midweek match-up.

Draw a runner at the DW

Wigan have had the edge in recent head-to-head league meetings with Blackburn, boasting a W2-D3-L1 return from six showdowns since 2017/18. The Latics are also defending an 11-match unbeaten home streak when welcoming Rovers, a run that dates back to New Year's Day 2007 when the duo were Premier League mainstays (W8-D4-L0).

Wigan 2.568/5 are rock-bottom of the home Championship rankings, picking up just three points from a possible 18 in front of their own supporters (W0-D3-L3), including a -7 goal difference. The Latics are in the bottom-four for Expected Goals (xG) ratio when viewing home-only records with only three sides creating a lower average xG figure than Athletic.

Blackburn 2.747/4 have been beaten in four of their opening six away days under Jon Dahl Tomasson (W2-D0-L4), although five of their opposition on the road are currently occupying top-half positions. Rovers have overperformed this term according to underlying performance data metrics with no team generating a lower xG average thus far (0.96 xG).

Oppose goals in derby dust-up

With neither team standing out in the traditional Match Odds markets, opposing goals appeals considering the aforementioned analysis on each outfit. Under 2.5 Goals is trading at 1.758/11 and that's a reasonable enough to support with both Wigan and Blackburn facing their own travails in front of goal when hosting and travelling respectively.

The Latics have scored a maximum of one goal in each of their six DW Stadium showdowns this season, notching just four times in front of their home supporters. Meanwhile, Blackburn have already been nilled on four occasions in games as guests, grabbing only four goals away from Ewood Park, three of which arrived in one trip to Swansea back in August.